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ok so ive had my macbook for 3 days now..i bought it brand new off the apple website. I downloaded the coconut battery display thing and it shows i have 5 battery cycles and the battery capacity is only 98% and i dont know why it went down already. would it be fine if i kept it plugged into the charger 24/7 even when its fully charged? and could you guys give me some tips cause at this rate my battery is gonna be completely dead in like 150 days

With a little bit of care, you can maximize the battery life (i.e. the time your battery will run before it must be recharged) and lifespan of your notebook's battery. Most importantly, use your Apple notebook in its comfort zone for temperature (See “Keep Your Notebook Comfy”). Don’t leave it locked in a hot trunk during the summer.

Notebook Temperate Zone. Your Apple notebook works best from 50&#176; to 95&#176;F. You should store them in places with temperatures of -13&#176; to 113&#176;. That’s 10&#176; to 35&#176;C and -25&#176; to 45&#176;, for the metrically inclined. Keeping your Mac as near room temperature as possible (22&#176;C) is ideal.

Your New Notebook
Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time, and then run Software Update to ensure you have the latest software. Apple periodically releases updates that may improve battery performance.

Standard Maintenance
For proper maintenance of a lithium-based battery, it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktop’s iCal.

Long Term Storage
If you don’t plan on using your notebook for more than six months, Apple recommends that you remove and store the battery with a 50% charge. If you store a battery when it’s fully discharged, it could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding any charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may experience some loss of battery capacity, meaning it will have a shorter life. Be sure to store the ejected battery at the proper temperature. (See “Notebook Temperate Zone.”)

Optimal Setting
You can choose to use your Apple notebook in a way that maximizes its battery life.
Energy: The Energy Saver control panel offers several settings that determine power levels for your PowerBook. Your portable knows when it’s plugged in, and runs accordingly. When on battery power, it will dim the screen and use other components sparingly. If you change this setting to maximize performance, your battery will drain more quickly.

Brightness: Dim the screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve maximum battery life. For instance, when watching a DVD on an airplane, you may not need full brightness if all the lights are off.
AirPort Wireless: AirPort consumes power, even if you are not using its features to connect to a network. You can turn it off in its control panel to save power.

Bluetooth Wireless: Likewise, you can turn off Bluetooth to maximize your battery life, as it also consumes power when not in use.
Applications and peripherals: Disconnect peripherals and quit applications not in use. Eject CDs and DVDs if not currently accessing them.

Battery Lifespan
A properly maintained Apple notebook battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.

Rechargeable lithium-based technology currently provides the best performance for your Apple notebook computer, iPod, or iPhone. You can also find this standard battery technology in many other devices. Apple batteries share the characteristics common to lithium-based technology found in other devices. Like other rechargeable batteries, these batteries may eventually require replacement.

Standard Technology
Lithium-ion batteries pack in a higher power density than nickel-based batteries. This gives you a longer battery life in a lighter package, as lithium is the lightest metal. You can also recharge a lithium-ion battery whenever convenient, without the full charge or discharge cycle necessary to keep nickel-based batteries at peak performance. (Over time, crystals build up in nickel-based batteries and prevent you from charging them completely, necessitating an inconvenient full discharge.)

Standard Charging
Most lithium-ion batteries use a fast charge to charge your device to 80% battery capacity, then switch to trickle charging. That’s about two hours of charge time to power an iPod to 80% capacity, then another two hours to fully charge it, if you are not using the iPod while charging. You can charge all lithium-ion batteries a large but finite number of times, as defined by charge cycle.

Charge Cycle. Using and recharging 100% of battery capacity equals one full charge cycle.
A charge cycle means using all of the battery’s power, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single charge. For instance, you could listen to your iPod for a few hours one day, using half its power, and then recharge it fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle, not two, so you may take several days to complete a cycle. Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity slightly, but you can put notebook, iPod, and iPhone batteries through many charge cycles before they will only hold 80% of original battery capacity. As with other rechargeable batteries, you may eventually need to replace your battery.

How to Maximize Power Use
The length of time your battery will power your device depends on how you use it. For instance, watching a DVD will use up your notebook battery’s power more quickly than simple word processing. You can follow some easy steps to maximize your notebook, iPod, or iPhone battery life.

Hot Tip
If you use your iPod, iPhone, or notebook in temperatures higher than 95&#176; F (or 35&#176; C), you may permanently damage your battery’s capacity. That is, your battery won’t power your device as long on any given charge. You may damage it even more if you charge the device in these temperatures. Even storing a battery in a hot environment can damage it irreversibly.

On Playing It Cool
You may find that playing an iPod or using an iPhone in a very cold environment decreases battery life. Unlike the effects of a hot environment, this is a temporary condition. Once molecules in the battery warm up, the battery will return to its previous capacity.

Exercise Your Machine
Lithium-ion batteries need to be used for maximum performance. If you don’t use your device often, be sure to complete a charge cycle at least once a month.

When all else fails, try everything!The Rep System and you.Life's a joke...If you're not laughing, then you didn't get it.

ok so ive had my macbook for 3 days now..i bought it brand new off the apple website. I downloaded the coconut battery display thing and it shows i have 5 battery cycles and the battery capacity is only 98% and i dont know why it went down already. would it be fine if i kept it plugged into the charger 24/7 even when its fully charged? and could you guys give me some tips cause at this rate my battery is gonna be completely dead in like 150 days

I use the iStat Widget which says my MacBook has been through 174 cycles and still has 100% health (I purchased it in July 2007). I have seen the health fall down to 97%, but once I run the battery to 5% then charge it all the way back up... I'm back to 100% health.

My advice... try the iStat widget.. any difference?
then.. drain it to 5% then charge back to full. any difference?
also.. you have a full year of AppleCare so if the battery fails prematurely Apple will replace it... so no worries.

My MacBook is usually always plugged in... the system actually stops charging when the battery is full... you can see this by clicking the Apple in the top left of the menubar... then click about this Mac... then click More info... then click the "power" label... then notice this:

wow ride thanks your post was really informative...i downloaded istat and it said that my battery capacity is 100% =]]]...i just think i'll keep my macbook on the charger all day everyday

That's not best practice. Make sure you run a complete cycle at least once a month, as this is what the battery was designed to do. Keeping it at 100% charge, all the time, isn't what it was designed for.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is stoned to death.
- Joan D. Vinge

wow ride thanks your post was really informative...i downloaded istat and it said that my battery capacity is 100% =]]]...i just think i'll keep my macbook on the charger all day everyday

I'm glad it helped... If I'm sitting near an outlet and it's not too much trouble.. My macbook is plugged in. The battery life on the MacBook is really good (IMO).. I usually get around 4 hours of good use when running from the battery.. watching movies, internet, photoshop, etc..

Zoolook is correct... I make it a habit of draining to 5% or so every few weeks just to keep it healthy.